


Now Is Not The Time

by ElixirsPlace



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, DNF, Fever, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Kinda?, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, Or Is It?, Pining, Platonic Cuddling, Requited Love, Sick Character, Sickfic, Slow Burn, dreamnotfound
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-16 03:00:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28574904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElixirsPlace/pseuds/ElixirsPlace
Summary: "George, turn on your camera."--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Thoughts always seem to bubble up and resurface at the wrong time, don't they? And the more you push them down, the harder they push back. The timing will never be correct, now will never be a good time.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 207





	1. Cloudy

**Author's Note:**

> Woo! I actually published something! I'm not sure yet how many chapters this will be, probably not a long, but it's been a lot of fun to write so far so I hope you enjoy!

“George, turn on the camera.”  
Dream’s voice rang through George’s headphones almost painfully loud, the pressure of the headset not helping with his pounding headache. He shifted awkwardly in his chair and reached to hit the turn on camera button before he could convince himself otherwise.  
“Geez, you look like crap.”  
George ran one of his hands through sweaty hair, pulling it off his forehead. He tried not to cringe at the heat that came off his face and instead focused on trying to make himself look more awake to no avail.  
“Is it that bad?”  
“Well, not worse than your voice, but still bad. I’ll be there in 10.”  
George tried to protest, but before he could get a word out Dream was gone and he was left in the call on his own. He slowly removed his headset and placed his head in his hands, regretting moving to Florida to be near Dream. He climbed out of his chair, leaning on his desk to fight off the wave of dizziness that hit him. He moved to sit on his bed and found himself leaning against his headboard with heavy-lidded eyes. He didn’t even flinch when he saw the tan hand of his best friend reach down to touch his forehead.  
“You are burning up! How long have you felt this bad?”  
George leaned into the touch of his best friend, mind clogged with fever. He just hummed in response, thoughts too fuzzy to frame an actual sentence.  
“Okay then, you lay down and rest, I’m going to find a thermometer and some Tylenol.”  
Dream pulled his hand away and George audibly whined, making Dream chuckle. George laid down and wrapped his arms around his pillow, pulling it into his chest. Dream bit his lip and shuffled out of the room, heading towards the bathroom on autopilot. His mind wandered as he searched for what he was looking for, thinking about how cute George had looked half asleep, or how he seemed so much more open and affectionate with his mind fuzzy. He tried to push the thoughts away and focus on helping his friend because now was one of the worst times possible to deal with a stupid crush that he definitely hadn’t had for a long time and he definitely wasn’t repressing, what are you talking about? He stopped rummaging around the cabinets for a moment and took a deep inhale, trying to slow his thoughts down enough to properly think. Now was not the time for him to be worrying about this. Now was not the time for the possibly gay crush on his best friend he definitely hadn’t been repressing to come up again. Now was not the time. He finally really looked at the items he was rummaging through and picked out what he needed, grabbing a thermometer and some ibuprofen.  
George woke to the sound of footsteps by his bed. He shifted to see who it was and smiled lopsidedly when he saw the familiar green sweatshirt of his best friend. Dream visibly brightened when he saw Georges smile.  
“Hey Georgy, have a nice nap?”  
George nodded and shifted around in bed more, trying to escape his own sweat and heat. Dream knelt down and placed the thermometer into George's mouth, purposely avoiding looking at George's lips. There were a few awkward moments of silence until a beep was heard and Dream pulled the thermometer away from George. He read the numbers aloud, concern evident in his voice.  
“102.3 degrees, you definitely got a fever, a bad one at that.”  
George groaned, reaching upwards at Dream, grabbing a handful of his sweatshirt and yanking him weakly, trying to get him closer. Dream had to shift to keep his balance and let out a sharp chuckle, placing his hand over Georges.  
“Come on, your hoodies all sweaty, grab a new one and I’ll grab some water for you to take the meds with.”  
Dream carefully peeled George's hand off his sweatshirt and helped him sit up and eventually stand. He made sure the man was steady enough to stay upright before letting go and heading to the kitchen to find some water.  
George whines softly when Dream leaves, shivering at the loss of his warm presence. He moves sluggishly towards his closet and looks for a fresh hoodie, not spotting anything. He glances around his room lazily and notices the lime green sweatshirt laying off to the side on his desk. Dream had left it there a few days by accident after he spilled ketchup on it and had to wash it. George had washed it for him and there it sat, looking warm. George felt so cold and sweaty as he shuffled over to his desk and yanked off his blue hoodie, quickly replacing it with the soft fabric of his best friend's one. He sighed in contentment and tossed the blue hoodie on the floor, quickly climbing back into bed. Dream knocked twice on the door and peered inside, the familiar green fabric catching his eye. A soft smile crossed his face and he walked over to the bed, placing a water bottle on the nightstand.  
“I was wondering if you still had that. Guess it yours now!” Dream felt blood rush to his face at the sight of his hoodie covering George. It was clearly too big for him as the sleeves covered his hands and the collar hung loose.  
“You can have it back when ‘m better, promise…” George shifted nervously and moved his hands to cover his face. Seeing Dream blush even lightly made him turn bright red, and he didn’t want the other to see.  
“You think I want all your germs? You can keep it, consider it a get well present.” Dream chuckled, running a hand through his hair while avoiding eye contact. He finally remembered what he was supposed to be doing and picked the water bottle back up, quickly handing it off to George along with the Ibuprofen. Georges thanks him quietly and removes his hand from his face to take the medication. Dream has to stifle a mix between a laugh and noise of surprise when he says how red George is. Sure, the fever is contributing to the redness, but it’s obvious he’s blushing. Dream quickly glances down at the floor and tries to calm down his racing thoughts, continuing to use his earlier mantra of ‘now is not the time’ to slow down his heart rate to a manageable level. He looked back up to find George almost asleep again, with his eyes half-closed and trying to get comfortable. George lets out a low whine and peers up at Dream with pleading eyes.  
“Dreammmm, ‘m cold, cuddles?” George pulled his hands out of his sleeves enough to make it clear that he was making grabby hands in Dream’s direction. Dream let out a heavy sigh, knowing his friend wasn’t gonna stop whining unless he did what he wanted. He forced down his thoughts and climbed into the bed next to his friend, unsure of what to do. George didn’t even need to think about it, (not that he really could with his mind clogged with tired and fever) he moved in close, burrowing his head into the crook of Dream's neck with a happy noise. Dream bit on his lip so he didn’t let out a gasp at how warm and… comfortable he felt with George snuggled up with him. It didn’t take long for George's breathing to even out, and Dream fell asleep listening to him, mind clouded with contentment.


	2. Windy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote more :) big pogchamp, I'm really excited for chapter 3 so hopefully it'll be out soon! until then, enjoy!

George let out a heavy breath and burrowed his face further into the fabric that was pressed against his nose subconsciously. He breathed in a deep breath and enjoyed the soft scent of the ocean. He was about to fall back asleep when he felt something shift behind him, startling out of his sleepy haze. He lifted his head up and tried to blink the sleep out his eyes, glancing around at what had moved. 

“Morning sleepyhead, how are you feeling?” Dream said with an anxious smile, unsure whether to try to move George off him or not. George snaps his head up to look at Dream and the memories from yesterday register in his brain, albeit hazy they are there, including putting on Dreams hoodie and then cuddling up to him and falling asleep. He feels blood rush to his cheeks and he shuffles backward with a yelp, nearly falling off the bed. Dream manages to catch him by the wrist and pull him back fully on the bed. He places his other hand lightly on George's forehead,

“You feel less hot, let’s take your temp and get you something to eat.” 

“S-sure…” George pulls away from the touch and pulls his knees up to his chest, tucking them into the oversized hoodie. He feels much more lucid than yesterday, his head still aches a bit and so do his muscles when he moves, but he can think semi-clearly and the thought of eating didn’t make him feel sick to his stomach. His eyes follow Dream as he pushes himself off of the bed and walks over to the nightstand. George swears he can see a light blush on the other man's face, but he forces himself to believe it's just his imagination.

Dream resists the urge to coo at how cute George looks with his legs tucked into the lime green hoodie. He looks small and fragile and it makes Dream want to hold him close and tell him how he really feels, but he can’t do that. He can’t do that because now is not the time. When will it be the time? He has no clue, probably never, but whenever the time is now is definitely not it. So he grabs the thermometer in one hand and places the other on the bed, trying to act normal while also wanting to be near George. He longs to be able to hold his hand, to feel George's soft skin against his. God, how did he get this caught up in his emotions? Normally he was better at pushing them down, not letting the thoughts sneak up on him and consume him, but this felt all-consuming. He was startled out of his thoughts but George coughing softly into the sweatshirt. He shook his head to try and clear out the thoughts and placed the thermometer in George's mouth. To avoid getting lost in his thoughts again he busied himself with asking what they should have for breakfast, even though George couldn’t respond. The thermometer let out a shrill beep and Dream quickly read it aloud.

“100.8, you’re doing a lot better,” George could hear the smile in his voice when he spoke, and he smiled back on reflex.

“Feel better too, less fuzzy.” 

“Yeah, you’re definitely more coherent now. What do you want to eat?” Dream sets down the thermometer and runs a hand through his hair absentmindedly, his eyes glancing back and forth between George's eyes and his hands, that he could swear looked like they were shaking slightly. George noticed him looking and quickly pulled them into the oversized sleeves on the hoodie.

“Hmm, some pancakes sound nice, and it's probably all I have the ingredients for…” George trails off, biting his lip and staring at the ground anxiously. He feels so very anxious and he doesn’t 100 percent know why, though he can infer that it has something to do with the butterflies that fill his stomach at the thought of getting to be near Dream again, the way that he was last night while he slept. It wasn’t his first time feeling like this, and no doubt it would not be his last. Dream notices how nervous George seems, and decides it is because he isn’t used to being taken care of, and the way to help him get used to it is to continue to take care of him. He shoots a calming smile at George and moves to grab some more medication for him. 

“Alright, you should take some more ibuprofen while you’re up, I’ll go make some pancakes for you and me, okay?” 

George nods and bites his lip again, reaching to take the medication.

“Thanks, Dream, it means a lot, you being here and everything.” George bites his lip again and looks up at Dream and watches Dreams face grow bright red with embarrassment.

“Its-its no problem George, I’m happy to take care of you!” Dream quickly shuffles out of the room, trying to hide his obvious blush. George smiles brightly, enjoying making the man blush since he got to do it to him regularly. He untucks his legs from the hoodie and grabs his phone from the nightstand, answering a few messages from Sapnap and other people before getting distracted on Twitter.

Dream walked down the hallway and into the kitchen at a speed matching the one his thoughts moved at. His mind felt like it was spinning as he located the ingredients for pancakes. Luckily he had made pancakes enough time for his sister he could do it on autopilot while he allowed his thoughts to spill out, not even realizing he was talking aloud.

“God, as much as I say that stupid mantra you think it would get through to me by now, I can’t be thinking like this, I just can’t. It’s not just that now is a terrible time it’s also that there’s no way I could tell him any of it no matter what the time is. It doesn’t matter the time or place, it could ruin… everything! I can’t cope with him just not talking to me anymore, or it getting awkward, I just can’t. Nothing would work, I don’t even know how to be with guys, much less my best friend. I need to find a way to get these thoughts out and get them to not come back...but how?” Dream monologued on as he cooked the pancakes, finding the thoughts spilled out quicker and quicker as he began to pace anxiously while he mixed the batter. 

George was pulled out of his scrolling by the sound of heavy footsteps and muffled talking. He couldn’t make out what Dream was saying, but he could tell it sounded.. distressed? Definitely emotionally charged. He crept out of bed and down the hallway, stopping when he could make out the words that seemed to be flying out of Dream's mouth without any filter. He kept silent as the heat crept up his face, he bit down on his lip hard to prevent any sound from slipping out.


	3. Clear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look! Look! I started something and finished it :)) this is very pogchamp of me! I hope you enjoy!

George stayed frozen in the spot for a few seconds, his brain reeling to process the words spilling out of Dream’s mouth. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Was Dream seriously monologuing aloud about..liking him? Loving him even? Wait, no. Slow down, no one brought up love, maybe he was just misinterpreting this with his clogged up brain. All he had to do was go ask Dream to clarify. Easy, right?

Dreams mouth slammed shut and his head perked up from where he was slightly hunched over the stovetop. He swore he heard footsteps coming from the hallway, and the only other person in the apartment was George. 

“Gogy? That you?” Dream called out nervously, his voice shaking slightly as he spoke. He mental scolded himself for not hiding his nerves better, knowing George would pick up on it. Even if he had managed to not hear him talking, he would be concerned about why Dream was anxious. 

George pulled down the sleeves of the hoodie to cover his hands once again and stepped out into the kitchen, his eyes cloudy with confusion as he tried to make eye contact with the other.

“Hey, pancake making going well?” George took a few nervous steps further into the kitchen, suddenly wishing he had just scampered back to bed and pretended he never heard anything. 

“Yeah, almost ready. You alright? You seem a bit anxious. Your head hurting again?” Dream spoke softly, the anxious edge apparent in his voice too. He stepped away from the pancakes for a moment, walking a small bit closer to George.

“I’m alright...I heard you talking.” The last bit came out rushed and trailed off a bit, George’s eyes falling to stare at the floor. He felt like all his drive had been extinguished. What if he had misheard? He felt the butterflies grow louder, and pancakes didn’t sound so tasty anymore. Dream swallowed thickly and popped his knuckles, a habit he found he did a lot when anxious. 

“George...let me explain. The past couple of days..while actually, I guess this has kinda been here for a while now and I’ve just been forcing it down, I’ve felt..differently towards you. Not bad, it’s actually felt really inviting, it’s hard not to just let myself get swallowed in it. It's more than being bros, it’s wanting to be so much more. It’s...love…” Dream trailed off in a similar style to how George did. “Truth is, I love you, George, and I can’t keep waiting for the right time to tell you.” Dream let out a heavy breath, feeling like a giant weight had been lifted from his shoulders. 

For a moment, the world was slight apart from the song of pancakes sizzling on the stovetop. Then, all Dream felt was warm. It took him a moment to realize he had squeezed his eyes shut. He opened them to see George, looking pale as ever, wrapping his skinny arms around him, hugging him as tight as possible. 

“G-George?” Dream wrapped his arms around George impulsively, absolutely loving the feeling of getting to hold the smaller again. Dream heard a small ‘I love you too, Clay,’ whispered into his chest and he positively melted. He tilted his head to place a soft kiss on George’s forehead, and they stayed there for a long time, entangled in each other. 

“Dream? Does something smell… burnt to you?” Dream’s head perked up and snapped his head around to see a small bit of smoke rising from the stove.

“I forgot about the pancakes!”


End file.
